"An 'ambitious' course in Russia costs at least $100 million"

Thanks to reader Jim for Ilya Khrennikov's story on upscale golf course construction continuing in Russia despite dire economic news. This caught my eye in the context of golf in the Olympics, since Jack Nicklaus is one of the proponents for using the Olympics to grow the game worldwide, and yet is behind some of these outlandishly expensive designs:

An "ambitious" course in Russia costs at least $100 million, including real estate, Kustikov said in an interview in the ornate clubhouse at Pestovo, Protcion's 18-hole complex 30 kilometers north of Moscow. Pestovo, which opened in 2007, cost $120 million and increased the value of surrounding property as much as 20-fold, Kustikov said.

Now I understand the price of the golf course is embedded in that figure with many other expenses, but we're still talking about entirely unrealistic dollar figures if you expect anyone to build courses to introduce new players. And that's not even addressing whether they're any fun to play or reasonable to maintain.